People-driven security, an approach that lets individual Internet users join their forces in the battle against online threats, gains momentum with the introduction of the new WOT Website Reputation Scorecard. By combining the collective power of millions of human eyes with data from automated blacklist services, WOT delivers accurate up-to-the minute website reputation information.
WOT, Web of Trust, is a free browser security tool that warns the user about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware, or send spam email. The new WOT Website Reputation Scorecard shows, at-a-glance, the facts behind website ratings – appearances on negative sources such as phishing and spam black lists or positive sources like del.ici.ous, Digg, or Wikipedia. The scorecard provides a social platform for community members to share their valuable insights with others to increase online security. www.mywot.com
Supporting Facts
Adult content: 28% of the dangerous sites analyzed
Software: 27% (free and licensed software)
Entertainment: 16% (movies, games, music, screensavers, smileys)
“Anti-virus software is not sufficient protection against fast emerging Internet crime and new ways to attack and scam individual users. WOT offers an extra layer of protection and should be part of every Web surfer’s permanent security armor,” says Esa Suurio, CEO of Against Intuition Inc.
“As Internet crime is becoming increasingly professional, we need to find new ways to fight online crooks. Criminals have joined their forces, and so should the good guys,” says Suurio.
Against Intuition Inc. focuses on developing and providing software and services for the WOT community and promotes the community's goals to make the Internet safer. Against Intuition was founded in 2006 by two Finnish graduate students, Timo Ala-Kleemola and Sami Tolvanen.
Demo
Demo video and access to Website Reputation Scorecard
Sample scorecard 1
Website Reputation Scorecard of Download.com
Sample scorecard 2
Website Reputation Scorecard of Twitter
Sample scorecard 3
Website Reputation Scorecard of Errorsafe
Sample scorecard 4
Website Reputation Scorecard of Fullreleases
Photos
Images of sample Website Reputation Scorecards, company logos, sample screen prints, and photos of key personnel.
Video
A WOT demo shows how WOT works in practice.
Related links
Market facts, related links, and research about Internet safety
Technorati links
Find blogs about WOT
Esa Suurio (Spokesperson)
Against Intuition Inc.
CEO
Italahdenkatu 27 A
00210 Helsinki
Finland
+358 40 7169301 (cell)
Email: esa.suurio@mywot.com
Web site: http://www.mywot.com
Blog: http://www.mywot.com/blog
Websites offering adult content (28% of the dangerous sites analyzed), software (27%), and entertainment (16%) are the most dangerous for Internet users. These sites cause major damage both financially and to computers. These are the findings of an analysis carried out by WOT, Web of Trust. The study is based on analysis of 17 million websites rated by the WOT user community. (www.mywot.com)
Other dangerous categories include search sites, digital marketing providers, and consumer research sites making empty promises of free gifts or money.
A list of dangerous sites is available at http://www.mywot.com/en/press/fiftydangeroussites.
“With this study we wanted to shed light on the dark corners of the Internet. The findings show that Internet users should be really cautious when downloading software, movies, music, and screensavers, not to mention when visiting sites with adult content,” says Esa Suurio, CEO of Against Intuition, Inc.
“Many of the dangerous websites are well designed and seem reliable, but if you download content from them you may run into problems, even with the latest security software installed on your PC. In particular, spyware can bypass security controls, leaving your computer vulnerable to further attacks.”
“For us, WOT (Web of Trust) is really about creating a platform for people to share their experience of companies, their websites, and the products they offer. Once Internet users adopt this approach, fraudulent and harmful sites will be short-lived,” says Suurio.
Spyware is software that runs on a computer without the permission of its user(s). It tracks users’ online activities, gathers private information from a user’s computer, and sends the resulting data back to the spyware manufacturer over the Internet. Spyware programs can interfere with user control of the computer in other ways also, such as by installing additional software or redirecting web browser activity. Spyware can even change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, a different home page, and loss of Internet or other programs.
Adware is software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material after the software is installed or while the application is being used. Some types of adware are also spyware.
Phishing, the most frequently discussed type of Internet fraud, is an attempt to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, by pretending to be a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Phishing is typically carried out by email that directs the user to visit a bogus website. Common targets of forgery in phishing attacks are PayPal, eBay, and online banks. Usually each phishing attack uses a different short-term website address.
Images of sample screens of WOT reputation ratings can be downloaded from Flickr, as well as company logos and hi-res pictures of staff.
A WOT demo video shows how WOT works in practice.
Find blogs about WOT
Technorati tags: WOT, Web of Trust, MyWOT, mywot.com, reputation rating, reputation system, reputation measurement, online reputation, online security, Internet security, online safety, Internet safety, browser extension, Firefox extension, Internet Explorer extension, browser add-on, Firefox add-on, Internet Explorer add-on, anti-spam, anti-phishing, phishing protection, fraud protection, child safety, Against Intuition, content filtering
WOT, Web of Trust
WOT, for "Web of Trust," is the world's first online reputation rating community. It allows Internet users to assess the trustworthiness of websites. WOT is becoming the collective conscience of the web.
Name: Esa Suurio, CEO
Phone: +358 40 716 9301
Address: WOT / Against Intuition, Inc.; Itälahdenkatu 27 A; 00210 Helsinki; Finland
Email: esa.suurio@mywot.com
WOT - Web of Trust - is launching the world's first online tool for reputation rating on December 3, 2007. This community-based browser add-on allows Internet users to assess the trustworthiness of websites. The community's new website, including free download, can be found at http://www.mywot.com/.
"Our mission is to let our users share their experience of companies, their websites, and the services they offer - for us, it's really about creating a platform for people to share their knowledge." - Esa Suurio, CEO
"My old computer crashed a bunch of times. After installing WOT, I found out that I might have visited some sites with malicious content."
"I found WOT extremely useful, and I will certainly recommend it to all my friends." - Opinion of 98% of WOT users according to a survey carried out in late 2007
Company logos, high-resolution pictures of staff, and the WOT GUI can be downloaded from Flickr.
Our WOT demo video shows how WOT works in practice.
Find blogs about WOT
WOT, Web of Trust
WOT, for "Web of Trust," is the world's first online reputation rating community. It allows Internet users to assess the trustworthiness of websites. WOT is becoming the collective conscience of the web.
Behind the community is a team developing the WOT service. Headed by Esa Suurio, Against Intuition, Inc. focuses on developing and providing software and services for the WOT community and on promoting the community's goals. Against Intuition was founded in Finland in 2006 by two visionary graduate students, Timo Ala-Kleemola and Sami Tolvanen, who are now engaged in further system development alongside a group of talented software developers, designers, and database administrators. It's no coincidence that WOT comes from a country that repeatedly has been cited as one of the world's least corrupt countries.
Name: Esa Suurio, CEO
Phone: +358 40 716 9301
Address: WOT / Against Intuition, Inc.; Itälahdenkatu 27 A; 00210 Helsinki; Finland
Email: esa.suurio@mywot.com
